CHICAGO—The Blue Jays have a plan that involves becoming more athletic and more versatile on their major-league roster.

It’s part of the reason why their DH, Edwin Encarnacion, learned to play first base and a little left field. It’s part of the reason why the relatively unathletic Adam Lind was sent down, and it’s a large part of the reason 24-year-old Yan Gomes is back in the majors.

Gomes was recalled after Tuesday’s victory over the White Sox, with reliever Jesse Chavez being optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas. The Jays’ plan with Gomes was always precise. He was optioned to Vegas on May 27 so that he could be called back in time for interleague play in the NL parks — nine games in the next 18 days against Atlanta, Milwaukee and Miami. Gomes is able to catch, play first and third base and has dabbled in left field, although not ready for prime time.

“I knew that playing National League teams, it’s good to have somebody that can play everywhere, so I was just getting ready for that,” Gomes said. “I did all of it.”

Gomes drew the start at first base against left-hander Jose Quintana on Wednesday. He will likely platoon at first base with David Cooper as Encarnacion continues to rehab his right wrist, where he was drilled by Red Sox right-hander Daniel Bard on Sunday.

“We didn’t even put a bat in his hand today,” manager John Farrell said. “There’s still some swelling and the strength in the right hand is improving. It’s still not to the point his left is, and we don’t want to re-aggravate things and set him back any more. He’s the classic case of being day-to-day right now. Hopefully it’s short term.

“Just in talking to Eddie and seeing the look on his face when he goes through some of those strength tests, he’s more encouraged today than he was at the time of being hit. First and foremost, no fracture, a good thing. When you still can’t see the knuckles on the back of his hand, there’s swelling in there.”

The Jays’ lineup remained in a state of flux, but one aspect that did not change was the top third of the batting order, following Tuesday’s success by the dynamic duo at the top, Brett Lawrie and Colby Rasmus, hitting ahead of Jose Bautista.

Rasmus’ contribution was obvious from a quick look at the boxscore, where five hits tend to grab your attention. But Lawrie’s success was more subtle. On a straight steal attempt, Rasmus lined a hard single to left with Lawrie motoring on to third and scoring on a bloop single by Bautista. Later, he scored from first base easily on a ball to the alley that was relayed perfectly.

“When you look at the top of the order, you’d ideally like to have the combination of speed and line-drive capability,” Farrell said. “I don’t think we’re looking for a home run hitter in the top couple of spots. If you’ve got that, all the better. On-base and the ability to steal a base, or certainly score from first on a double, those are pluses. It was really fun to watch that combination play out a few times.”

The Jays lineup after Bautista was altered with a left-hander on the mound. Instead of Kelly Johnson batting cleanup, it was catcher J.P. Arencibia. Johnson dropped down to sixth in the order, with Yunel Escobar in the five-hole for the second straight game. Farrell’s intention had been to have Escobar bat second vs. southpaws, but Rasmus’ performance put a hold on that thought.

“I spoke to Yunel when this change was made,” Farrell said. “Against lefties, he may find himself in that two-hole again, but after five knocks last night by Colby there might be a lot of crooked looks if he wasn’t in that spot today.”

To a man, led by Lawrie, the relocated Jays hitters insisted they will try not to change a thing about their approach.

“That response by Brett is one we would hope everyone has,” Farrell said. “Just because you’re in a different spot doesn’t mean you should try and do something maybe you’re not capable of . . . We’re putting him up there to get more at-bats in a game, take advantage of the energy and speed.”

Meanwhile, Farrell was keeping a close eye on Wednesday’s starter, Brandon Morrow. The talented right-hander was cruising in his last start vs. the O’s when a Wilson Betemit screaming line drive hit him on the right shin, knocking him out of the contest. His between-starts routine was helped by extra off-days.

“You can say guys might get gun-shy if they hear loud contact back through the middle,” Farrell said of any fear factor. “But having had a lot of them come back through the middle myself, you’re ducking out of there anyway. Once the adrenaline kicks in, the focus of executing a game plan, that takes over and blocks out any other thoughts that might creep in there.”

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